Steam and gas drier



C. C. THOMAS.

STEAM AND GAS DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov.29. 1915.

1,359,547, Patented Nov. 23, 1920.

ML #Q47 @f4/Wwf UNITED, SIATES PATENT' OFFICE.

MFG. CO., OFMILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION 0F WISCONSIN.

STEAM .AND GAS DRIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

L Patented Nov. 23, 1920.

Original application filed December 27, 1910, Serial No. 599,456.Divided and this application filed November 29, 1915. Serial No. 64,157.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, CARL C. THOMAS, a citizenof the United States, residing in the city of Baltimore, State ofMaryland, have invented new ancbuseful Improvements in Steam and GasDriers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to steam and gas driers.

It is particularly applicable for use with meters such as described inco-pending application Serial No. 599,456, filed December 27, 1910, ofwhich the present application isa division. It should be understood,however, that it is capable of use in various other relations.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an improved means forseparating moisture from flowing steam, gas or the like.

Another object is to provide an improved means for separating themoisture from flowing steam vor gas and for thoroughly drying the gas.

. Another object is to provide improved and simple apparatus foreffectively accomplishing these results.

@ther objects and advantages of the in-h vention will hereinafterappear.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

The views of the drawings are as follows:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through an embodiment of theinvention:

vFig. 2 is a detail transverse sectional view of the moisture collectingplates and the casing with which they are associated.

lF ig. 3 is a longitudinal section of a modified form of the separator.

Fig. 4L is a front elevation view of the moisture collecting plates ofthe separator shown in Fig. 3. l-

F ig. 5 is a sectional view of a portion of the heater illustrating analternative heater construction.

' Fig. r6 is a diagrammatic view of the device as applied to a compoundengine. 0

The apparatus illustratedcomprises. in general, a housing adapted to beconnected to a gas main or the like through which flows the steam or gasfrom whichthe mois: ture is to be removed. -In the housing 1s located aseparating* chamber 1, a drying and heating'chamber 2 and a moisturecol# lectng chamber 3 for receiving the moisture separated from the gasseparator and drier.

The separator is located in the forward end of the housing t in achamber in said housing which may be called the separating chamber. Acasing or conduit 5, preferably of smaller diameter than the housing 4is located in said chamber and spaced away therefrom so that the innercasing is jacketed by the steam or gas passing through the apparatus andis thus maintained at about the mean temperature of the steam 'or gas sothat free moisture is not added to it by condensation on the walls ofthe casing. The casing is flanged at its inner end and suitably attachedto the housing 4L. The annular space between the casing 5 and thehousing i is closed at the inner end of the casingso that any moistureor water that may collect within said annular space is forced to drainaround the casing receiving chamber 3. This latter construction isimportant for it has been found that when steam or gas iiows along apipe together with water, a large portion of the water may be, andgenerally is, found flowing along the inner surface of the pipe. rllheconstruction described intercepts this water and drains it to thereceiving chamber 3.

The inlet end of the casing 5 has an oblique mouth and in front of thismouth are located deflecting and moisture collecting plates 6. 7. Theseplates are suitably perforated and the perforations of each plate arestaggered with relation to the perforations in the other so that thesteam or gas is forced to take a tortuous path in entering theseparating chamber whereby the moisture is separated therefrom .andcollects on the plates, down whose inclined surfaces it flows to thereceiving chamber 3. The water which flows along the inner surface ofthe pipe is intercepted bythe space between the outer casing 4 and theinner c asing 5 and is discharged to the receiving chamber, while thewater which is mechanically suspended in Jthe steam or gas is drivendown the inclinedcorrugations of plates 6 or steam by the and 7 whichthus provide for a continuousiow of the water in substantially itsoriginal direction of flow, avoiding spattering and remixing with thegas.

A projecting ange 8 covers the mouth of the collecting chamber -3 toprevent the 5 to the steam or gas which passes through the apparatusfrom sweeping over the surface of the water in said chamber. This flangedoes not meet the opposite side of the chamber so that an entranceopening 9 is formed for receiving the water from theseparator. T heflange is preferably inclined to drain int-o the entrance opening.

The plates 6 and 7 for separating the suspended moisture from the steamor gas may be made in various forms. Fig. 2 illustrates one desirableconstruction in which the plates are corrugated and arranged face toface with the corrugations mismatched. The plates are perforated alongthe crease of the corrugations. This construction provides a tortuouspath for the steam or gas and also provides gutters down which theseparated moisture may readily ow.

An alternative construction of plates is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Theseplates are approximately flat, but are perforated and have burs orprojections pressed out therefrom which burs help to collect themoisture in the drops of sufficient size to drop through the flowingstream of gas or steam` to the bottom of the housing without beingcaught up by said stream. In this construction the perforations of theplates are staggered with respect to each other so that the steam or gasmust follow a tortuous course in passing into the chamber 5 as a resultof which the bulk of the contained moisture will be thrown against thesurface of the collecting plates and will trickle down the surfaces ofsaid plates, collecting into drops thereon and thence dropping orflowing to the bottom of Ehe housing 4 and into the collecting cham- Theheating chamber 2 is provided with a series of pipes 11 through whichsteam or superheated water, that is, water at a temperature above 212F., is passed. These tubes are supported by suitable tube sheets 12 inthe upperand lower ends of chamber 2. The tube sheets are covered bybonnets 13 which form chambers 14 between themselves and the tubesheets. A pipe 15 supplies steam or superheated water which enters thechamber 14, passes through the pipes 11 into the lower chamber 14 and iscarried away by a pipe 16. In the construction shown, the lower bonnet13 and the tube sheet 12 are within the chamber housing; that is to say,they are located within the pocket 17 in the lower portion of thehousing and are free to move up and down therein a short distance toallow free expansion and contraction of the tubes 11, the pipe 16passing through a suitable gland 18. Various other constructions may beemployed for mounting the pipes 11 within the heating chamber. Fig. 5illustrates a construction in which the lower bonnet 13 is locatedoutside of the chamber housing.

The apparatus operates as follows:

The wet steam or gas entering the separating chamber carries with it acertain amount of water which generally flows along the inner surface ofthe pipe. This water is caught in the space between the housing 4 andthe inner casing 5 and flows into the receiving chamber 3. In order toenter the casing 5, the steam or gas must pass through the staggeredperforations in the plates 6 and 7 In following the tortuous paththrough the openings in the plates, the water which is carriedmechanically suspended in the steam or gas is collected on said platesand driven down the inclined surfaces thereof in the same generaldirection as its original direction of flow to the collecting chamber 3.By changing the direction of flow of the collec-ted water as little aspossible the remixing of the water with the steam or gas is avoided. Thenearly dried steam or gas in the chamber 5 is thence passed around theheating pipes 11 so that any free moisture which may be present isevaporated and the steam or gas thoroughly dried. lt will be understood,of course, that the steam or water supplied to the pipes 11 is suppliedat a temperature higher than that of the steam or gas entering thedrier. It will be observed that the action of the drier is continuous.

The term moisture as used herein is of course intended to include notonly water and water vapor but other substances such as tar, etc., thepresence of which in the gas is particularly objectionable when the gasis metered.

While the separator and drier is particularly useful in connection withmeters it is not limited in its application, but may be used forexample, to reheat steam between stages of a compound or atriple-expansion engine, or between stages of a multi-stage turbine andfor similar uses.

Fig. 6 illustrates the use of the drier between the high and the lowpressure cylinders of a compound engine. The exhaust steam from the highpressure cylinder 19 is conveyed by means of the pipe 20 to the heaterand drier 21, and thence to the low pressure cylinder 22. Steam for thedrying pipes 11 is supplied by a pipe 23 connected tothe main steam pipe24. The livev steam in the pipe 24 is at a much higher temperature thanthe exhaust of the low pressure cylinder and drier and thereforeprovides a suitable heating means for the drying pipes.

Similar applications of the drier between stages of a multi-stageturbine will be apparent. The drier may also be used between areciprocating engine which exhausts into a low pressure steam turbineand the entrance to said turbine.

It should be understood that the structure shown is for purposes ofillustration only and that other structures may be devised which embodythe invention and which come within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims.

l. A steam or gas drier comprising a conduit provided with drying meansand, in advance of such drying means, with an inner conduit spaced fromthe walls of said first named conduit and having at its entrancemechanical moisture-separating means.

2. A steam or gas drier comprising a housing having within it a dryingchamber, drying means in said chamber, an inner conduit within saidhousing leading to said drying chamber, and moisture-collecting meansguarding the mouth of said inner conduit.

3. A steam or gas drier comprising a housing having within it a dryingchamber, drying means in said chamber, an inner conduit within saidhousing leading to said drying chamber, and moisture-collecting meansguarding the mouth of said inner conduit, said inner conduit beingseparated from the walls of said housing by a jacketing space.

4. A steam or gas drier comprising a housing having within it a dryingchamber, drying means in said chamber, an inner conduit within saidhousing leading to said drying chamber, said conduit having an obliquemouth, and downwardly inclined moisture-collecting means guarding saidoblique mouth.

5. A steam or gas drier comprising a housing having within it a dryingchamber, drying means in said chamber, an inner conduit within saidhousing leading to said drying chamber, and moisture-collecting platesguarding the opening of said inner conduit, said plates being spacedaway from each other and providedhwith staggered openings for thepassage of gas or vapor to the drying chamber.

6. A steam or gas drier comprising a housing having within it a dryingchamber, drying means in said chamber, and moisture-collecting means inthe path of Huid passing to said drying chamber, said means comprisingperforated corrugated plates placed in proximity to each other with thecorrugations of the two plates mismatched, the perforations of saidplates being staggered.

7. A steam or gas drier comprising a casing having within it a dryingchamber, mechanical moisture-separating means in advance of said dryingchamber, tube sheets at opposite sides of said chamber, tubes eX-tending from the one tube sheet to the other, and bonnets covering saidtube sheets, one of said tube sheets and the corresponding bonnet beinglocated within the casing and adapted to move therein to permitexpansion and contraction of said pipes.

8. A steam and gas drier comprising a housing having a drying chambertherein, drying means within said chamber, a separating chamber inadvance of said drying chamber, a casing within said separating chamber,said casing being spaced from the walls of said housing and the spaceclosed at the inner end of the casing whereby the casing is jacketed andthe moisture flowing along' the housing surface intercepted, moistureseparating means at the entrance to said casing, and a receiving chamberfor collecting the moisture separated from the steam or gas.

9. A steam and gas drier comprising a housing having a drying chambertherein, drying means within said chamber, a separating chamber inadvance of said drying chamber, a casing within said separating chamber,said casing being spaced from thewalls of said housing and the spaceclosed at the inner end of said casing whereby the casing is jacketedand the moisture flowing along the housing walls intercepted, aplurality'of plates having openings therein arranged at the entrance ofsaid casing, said plates being inclined downwardly in the direction offlow of the Huid and being arranged with the openings in one platestaggered with relation to the openings in the adjacent plate wherebymoisture is separated from the steam or gas and drained downwardly inthe direction of f'low, and a receiving chamber for the separatedmoisture, said receiving chamber having means adjacent the entrancethereto for preventing the flowing stream of steam or gas from coming incontact with the moisture in said chamber.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presenceof two witnesses.

CARL C. THOMAS.

